


Doctor's Don't Get Sick

by auspiciousotter



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Birthday, F/M, Fluff, Named Apprentice (The Arcana), everyone's favorite doctor gets sick and needs reminding he's loved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-21 02:21:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30014634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/auspiciousotter/pseuds/auspiciousotter
Summary: “It’s nothing!” Julian insisted. “Just my allergies acting up. Some of your special tea, and I’ll be back to normal in no time!”Roisin squinted at him, as if she could sense the fit of sneezes he was holding back.“You better be. I have big plans for tomorrow.”Oh, right, tomorrow. How could he forget? After all, it was only once a year you have a birthday. And this one was shaping up to be a grand one, what with Portia back in his life and with a partner by his side to share it.“I promise. Nothing is gonna ruin tomorrow.”
Relationships: Apprentice/Julian Devorak, Julian Devorak/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 10





	Doctor's Don't Get Sick

**Author's Note:**

> A day late, I know, but life sort of got in the way, as it does, and I missed posting on his birthday by a couple of hours.
> 
> The apprentice is one of my OC's, Roisin (pronounced Roe-sheen). I've got a bigger story with her in the works, but wanted to get something posted for, well, yesterday. I hope you enjoy!

It started with a sneeze. One small sneeze in the early morning that developed into an unrelenting itch by midday. Julian thought nothing of it, even as he pulled a third clean handkerchief from the clinic’s supply cabinet. It was merely hay fever. After all, spring was soon approaching, and new life already began to bloom around him. Some pollen had just managed to blow its way into his nostrils and his triggered his body’s response system. It was absolutely nothing to worry about.

That of course, didn’t stop Roisin from fussing.

“I’m back!” She called out as she burst through the door. She bent over, trying to catch her breath. “And I, hah, got the tea.”

Julian rushed to her side and helped her to sit. “Darling, you didn’t have to run. I could have waited.”

“And deprive myself of even a moment of your time? Perish the thought.” She flopped dramatically back in the chair. “I can hardly bear the time we are apart.”

“Oh my dearest Roshenka, how selfish it was of me to not take your feelings into account.” Julian knelt down in front of her, bringing her hands to press against his chest. “Could you find it in yourself to forgive such a wretch as me? I promise I will be better. I—achoo!”

An errant sneeze broke their scene.

“And this is why I got the tea.”

Roisin stood up and made her way to the small kitchen they’d set up in his office.

It was little more than a stove and a few small cupboards, but it had been an essential addition when Roisin got tired of carrying over lunch every day. Julian had insisted the gesture was unnecessary, and surprisingly, she relented to lessening her visits….until she noticed that he would forget to feed himself on the days she didn’t come. So solution two it was: a tiny make-shift kitchen where should could cook there, rather than lug a heavy basket through the crowded street.

“You really should be taking better care of yourself, my love.” She tutted while putting the kettle on to boil. “I know that’s like asking the ocean to stop its waves, but really, for a doctor you’re terrible when it comes to your own health.”

“It’s nothing!” Julian insisted. “Just my allergies acting up. Some of your special tea, and I’ll be back to normal in no time!”

Roisin squinted at him, as if she could sense the fit of sneezes he was holding back.

“You better be. I have big plans for tomorrow.”

Oh, right, tomorrow. How could he forget? After all, it was only once a year you have a birthday. And this one was shaping up to be a grand one, what with Portia back in his life and with a partner by his side to share it.

Julian cupped her cheeks and leaned down so their noses touched.

“I promise. Nothing is gonna ruin tomorrow.”

Gently, he brushed their lips together. As much as he’d love to pull her in for a deeper, harder kiss, he could still feel the itch in his nose. The last thing he wanted to do was ruin the moment by sneezing on her.

Roisin sighed when he pulled away. “I’m holding you to that. I’ve spent a lot of time and energy on planning the perfect birthday, and I’ll be very mad if you’re too ill to enjoy it.”

“I won’t be. Doctor’s don’t get sick, my dear.” He turned to fetch the kettle as it started to whistle, and set about brewing the sachet of tea she’d brought over.

That didn’t seem to please his darling magician, but she made no further remarks. Instead she moved past him to start serving up some of the lunch she’d left warming on the stove. It was a lobster bisque, a special early birthday treat, though it wouldn’t be nearly as good as the food he’d get to dine on tomorrow, according to her at least.

When both the tea and soup were ready, they met at his desk for a quick meal. As much as they loved each other’s company, Roisin still had errands to run before tomorrow, and Julian could only stand to take so long away from work.

Once they finished their lunch, Julian embraced her one last time, sneaking a kiss or two before letting her go. 

“You’ll probably beat me home for once,” Roisin chuckled as she made her way to the door. “Or, I should say you _better_ be home before me, because I’ll likely be at the palace until late, and I expect you to close up the clinic on time. And you are not allowed to lose track of time again.”

“Cross my heart, and hope—“

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence.” Roisin glared at him. “Now be a good boy, and _don’t overwork yourself_.”

With that she walked out the door, and into the throng of people making their way down the street. Julian watched until he could no longer see her form, then flipped the closed sign back over and prepared for a busy afternoon.

The tea did wonders, unsurprising as it was made by Roisin. Only minutes after she had left, the tickle in his nose disappeared, and with it, the pesky sneezes. Julian was able to continue his work unhindered.

Mostly that is.

Sometime around midafternoon, an ache began to settle in his bones. This wasn’t unusual. Julian knew his poor posture and tendency to overwork would often leave him feeling sore by the end of the day. This felt different though. It was heavier, sat deeper inside. His body began to sag like his bones were made out of heavy metal.

There was a lethargy that accompanied the aches, more than the usual tiredness Julian felt after a long shift at work. He found himself yawning more and veering out of focus.

Around the end of the day, he saw a patient come in, then blinked and they were walking out again. He panicked. There were only vague memories of the appointment, but they felt more like a dream. The only thing that kept him calm was his impeccable note taking. Roisin might complain that they were unreadable but at least he was detailed.

After reviewing the notes, and reassuring himself he hadn’t accidentally committed malpractice by giving a patient a bad diagnosis, Julian decided to close up the clinic early. As much as he hated leaving people without access to medical care, he couldn’t risk blacking out again and potentially hurting someone, or worse.

Roisin was out when Julian got back to the shop. Asra waved at him from the counter but was too busy helping a customer to greet him. Julian was happy for it, really. His condition hadn’t improved on the walk over, instead devolving into worse and worse symptoms, so he wasn’t in the mood to chat.

As Julian made his way up the stairs, dragging his body up each step, dread began to creep in. He recounted all the symptoms in his head: sneezing, itchy noses, aches, lethargy, and the newly developed chills….

He knew these symptoms, knew exactly what they were an indicator of. This wasn’t allergies. No, he, Dr. Julian Devorak, had gotten himself sick.

Roisin was going to kill him.

The world was darker when Julian next opened his eyes. He blinked, taking a moment to adjust to his new surroundings. At some point, he’d made his way to the bedroom, and into one of his long shirts he used for sleeping. He hoped he’d done this on his own, but the gaps in his memory left him clueless as to how he’d arrived at his current state. It was entirely possible he’d just crashed in the doorway, leaving poor Roisin to deal with his unconscious form when she returned.

Looking around, he could see his clothes were strewn across the floor, either from his own mindless disrobing, or from Roisin rushing to nurse him.

Julian chuckled at a memory from the days when she’d been his apprentice, but the laugh became a cough that ripped through his lungs with burning fire. One cough turned to two and soon he was convulsing, unable to stop the expulsions, and barely able to take more than a few gulps of air

A hand appeared at his back, helping him sit up and soothing away the coughs. Trails of tingling magic were left with every swoop of fingers up and down his spine.

“That’s it, deep breaths my darling.” Roisin said softly, her voice just as much medicine to him as the magic that poured from her fingertips. “It’s all okay. I’m here.”

Once he could breathe again, Roisin helped Julian back down into the bed. She brushed his sweat soaked hair from his face and leaned down to kiss his fore head.

“Still too hot.” She frowned.

“That’s….hah…not an accurate way to tell….temperatures. ‘s an old wives tale.”

Roisin rolled her eyes at him. “Julian, you’re hot enough to replace my stove salamander right now. I doubt it matters which body part I use to test it.”

“S-so you think I’m…ah…sexy, my love?” Julian winked at her.

“Sadly, yes,” She sighed. “I wish I could find you repulsive right now. It would make hating you for ruining all my lovingly crafted plans a lot easier.”

“ ‘m sorry”

“I know, Ilya.” Roisin grabbed a cloth from a bowl on the nightstand. She wrung it out slightly, then draped it across his forehead. “I’m very well aware of how sorry you are. I could be the one who’s sick in bed and you’d still apologize like it was your fault.”

A whimper escaped his throat at the press of the cool, damp fabric against his burning head. There was a soft scent as well, something relaxing. It reminded him of the floral teas she would make when his insomnia was at its worst. He’d told her once what it was, but as his mind fought against a wave of exhaustion, he couldn’t bring himself to recall its name.

“Rest, dear bird.” He heard Roisin whisper beside him.

More of her magic wove over him, resting on his body like a thick blanket, making it harder to fight off the encroaching sleep. There was so much he still wanted to say, to apologize for doing the one thing she’d asked of him not to do, but the combination of heavy warmth and sweet scent was too much.

The sound of a door creaking woke Julian next. It was brighter now, but the golden rays that poured through the crack in the drapes told him it was closer to sunset than sunrise. It had been a full day he’d been in bed.

With a groan, Julian stretched his aching body. He was happy to feel the normal level of soreness return, a good sign his illness was receding. He felt lighter too, and cooler, and so very, very sweaty.

There was a rustle beside him, and an arm wrapped itself around Julian’s chest, followed by the rest of Roisin as she snuggled into him. To his horror, he could feel a slight dampness to her night shift as well.

A chill of embarrassment crept up his spine. Was it not enough that he was lying in a puddle of his own sweat, but he’d also drenched Roisin as well? He could just imagine her disgusted faced when she woke up and realized what he’d done. She was already pissed at him for ruining his birthday and now….

Clanging came from the kitchen, reminding Julian what had woken him in the first place. But if Roisin was here in bed, then who….

Julian carefully extracted himself from Roisin’s grip and grabbed one of the daggers he kept hidden. There was no one in the living space when he threw open the door, but it was clear that someone had been there recently.

“Whoever you are,” He said with a harsh whisper, not wanting to wake his love. “I’ll have you know that I am a former pirate, and a physician. I have a very intimate knowledge of the human body and I’m not afraid to kill.”

Across the room, a red-headed woman popped up from behind the island in the kitchen. She looked wholly unimpressed.

“Really, Ilya?” Portia gave him a flat look. “Tell me again how you murdered Lucio in cold blood.”

Julian pouted at his sister’s sarcasm. “I was ruled guilty, if you don’t remember. And I _had_ gone up there to kill him, I was just…ah…too late.”

“Uh huh, sure.” She rolled her eyes and turned to the bubbling pot on the stove.

The familiar scent of soup wafted through the room. Ah, it was one of Mazelinka’s recipes. Julian could feel his mouth watering as he made his way over.

“Nuh-uh.” Portia stopped him before he made it halfway. “I am not the saint Roisin is, and I will not risk getting sick, not when milady is so prone to illness herself. So you can sit down on the couch, _far away from me_ , and wait for the soup to finish.”

Julian did as she said and curled up on the nearby sofa. Despite initially feeling better, his body still had a lingering weariness and was thankful to be resting again.

“Why are you here then?” Julian asked. “I mean, not that I, uh, don’t appreciate you coming over or anything, because I do, appreciate it, you’re my sister after all, but I, er, that is, Countess Nadia is quite important to you too and—“

The sharp smack of wood paused his rambling.

“Gosh, why do you have to be so thick sometimes, Ilya? You’re my brother! Of course I’m going to come over to help take care of you. Just from a safe distance so I can’t spread anything.”

She sighed, her face softening. “And even though it never seems to stick in that thick skull of yours, I’ll say it again. I love you, you dummy. But geez, you need to take better care of yourself. Getting sick on your birthday really? You have to know Roisin put in a lot of effort to plan your party. Even milady was looking forward to the festivities.”

Julian felt himself flush.

“Speaking of Roisin, you should have seen her when I got here this morning.” Portia turned back to the soup, giving it a small taste. She hummed then went to add in a few small dashes of spice. “I almost thought Asra had gotten it wrong when he said you were the one who was sick. She looked exhausted and could barely stand upright. I had to coax it out of her that she hadn’t slept at all.”

She paused in her stirring and turned back to Julian.

“You better not be stewing in guilt over there.” She squinted at him. “I’m not telling you this so you can feel bad. What I’m trying to say is that you have someone who loves you so much, she’s willing to stay up all night to take care of you.”

“She’s more than I deserve.” Julian croaked out, earning a groan from his sister.

“This, this right here is what I mean. I would smack you if I could.” The glare she sent him had him trembling. “You deserve to be loved by someone who loves you just as much, therefore, you deserve her.”

The tone Portia gave signaled the end of the conversation. Julian knew better than to challenge his sister when she decided she’d had enough, so he remained silent.

They didn’t talk much more, as Portia finished up the soup, ladling some into a bowl for him and leaving it on the counter for him to grab once she departed. She said her farewells, and left him instructions on how to reheat the soup for later consumption, as well as giving threats if she found out he didn’t eat it, then made her way out.

It took a moment for Julian to gather the energy to stand again. He wobbled his way to the kitchen, and scarfed down the entire bowl. As he looked to the rest of the pot, he was tempted to have more. His empty stomach sure wasn’t complaining at the idea, but the rest of his weary body begged to go back to the bed and the warm embrace of his lover.

In the end, the promise of Roisin won over, and he began a slow trek back to the bedroom.

Little had changed in his absence. Roisin was still curled up where he’d left her, but, to his delight, her nightgown and the blankets beneath had dried in his time away.

Julian almost groaned in delight as he crawled back under the covers. He’d only been awake for half an hour at most, but he already felt drained. He took a moment to just relish in the relief his body felt at laying down again.

Turning over to Roisin, he was surprised to find her deep green eyes blinking back at him.

“I’m sorry if I woke you.” He went to cup her cheek, but was interrupted by her own hand reaching to touch his face. Unlike the night before, her touch was warm, something that brought a smile to her face.

“I think I’ve slept enough anyway,” She giggled. “Glad your fever’s gone though. You’ll be well enough for that belated birthday party soon.”

“Well, you know,” He shot her a crooked grin. “My sister did just leave, and I’m feeling a lot better thanks to all your hard work. So if you wanted to start celebrating now—pffbt!”

Julian squawked as a pillow smacked him in the face.

“You are terrible.” Roisin chided him, but she could quite hide the smile from her tone. “Ugh, sometime I wonder why I even put up with you.”

“Because you love me?”

The pillow was pulled away from Julian’s face. He took a sharp breath of air when he saw the starry-eyed look Roisin was giving him. It made his pulse quicken, and he could feel that delicious ache in his heart that came every time he thought of her, of how much he loved her.

“I do love you, Ilyushka, with all of my being.” She leaned down to press a kiss to his forehead. Slowly, she made her way down, kissing his eyelids, nose, each cheek, then finally his lips. “There is nothing in this world I love so much as you.”

As she went to say more, a yawn tore itself from her mouth.

“Seems I’m not the only one who could use more sleep.” Julian chuckled. “As your doctor, I must insist on a prescription of bed rest and cuddles.”

“And will the good doctor be partaking in his own medicine as well?”

“Of course! How else could I make sure you’re following my orders?”

He pulled her down to his chest, slotting their bodies together. It always brought him such satisfaction in the way they fit together so well, as if they were always meant to be like this.

Roisin let out another yawn, and nosed at his collar bone.

“Mmmm…alright, you are the expert in these matters.” She gave a soft laugh. “And after all, we need to be in top shape as soon as….possible. I made a pro….promise to give you the best birthday ever and I…..intend to keep it.”

Julian stayed awake long enough to feel Roisin’s breath even out. He stared down at her, content to just watch the slow rise and fall of her chest. It reminded him that she was real, and real human being filled with real love for him.

His eyes slipped closed, and he let himself be lulled by the soft sounds of Roisin’s breathing. In the days following, there would be partying, and presents. He’d drink too much and dance even more. Everything would be just as perfect as Roisin had planned it.

But right now, as he pulled her even closer to him, Julian couldn’t think of any gift that would ever top this.


End file.
